5/5 stars

Coming out of Excision, I was left with two questions on my mind: ‘What the hell did I just watch?’ and ‘Wow, who knew the girl from 90210 could act?’ Such is the power of this shocking body-horror title, which has been one of the highlights of LIFF26 so far. The fantastic cast includes Ariel Winter, Matthew Gray Gubler, Malcolm McDowell and the incomparable John Waters, but film’s star is definitely AnnaLynne McCord, who plays troubled teenage protagonist Pauline brilliantly. Terrifying and captivating, she proves herself as an actress far more talented than her previous roles would ever have you believe.

Originally beginning life as a short film, this is director and screenwriter Richard Bates Jr’s first feature and impresses greatly for a debut effort. Pitched as a comedy horror, the film’s advertising campaign does it no favours and Excision comes across in a relatively candid and cliché manner from the looks of the trailer; I’d urge anyone to forgo it and go straight to the film, which is far more intelligent and dark than it appears at first glance.

The dark humour definitely comes across throughout, the performances of Gray Gubler as Pauline’s biology teacher and John Waters as the local priest/Pauline’s psychiatrist being particularly brilliant, but the decline of Pauline from troubled teen to psychopathic amateur surgeon cannot be ignored, and Excision is as much a psychological study as it is a black comedy in the vein of Heathers, to which it has already been compared.

A disturbing film that will leave you reeling at the incredible ending, Excision brings something new to the genre, more akin to David Cronenberg than Michael Lehmann. This is a film that stays with you after the closing credits, unrelenting and unforgiving and totally compelling.

Hannah Woodhead